Community, as well as life, is – like most things – what you make of it. Sometimes the less “normal” you are willing to reach for, the more magic you will find. Ask the 5 urban pirates living on a Ferry off of Manhattan Island. The ship, purchased on yachtworld.com, is owned by Jonathan, who lives on it with 3 other men and one woman. According to today’s NY Times article, The 6, 000 sq.ft ship has a Christmas tree, a refrigerator and a drum set on board, toilets that flush with a bucket of sea water added, though showers and other amenities (like central heat) are not yet in working order.

Residents make trips into the city or to pick up friends in a small motorboat or sailboat. They share an old van kept in a parking garage nearby and most of the furnishings were acquired on Craigslist, including 5 free couches. This group lives, works, creates and throws parties, while planning a trip to long island in the Summer where they will hang out, work on the ship and commune with nature.

Although there is a constant maintenance workload to life onboard, Ben DeVoe, an artist and landscape gardener, is not considering going back to a “normal” apartment life. They’d all rather put up with the inconveniences to have a bigger, more communal and more creative life together.